Nottingham City Transport has shortlisted the GT Radial GAU861 urban city-bus as an all-position tyre of choice following a two-year project to maximise return-on-investment.

The operator, who was originally contracted to a premium manufacturer until April 2014, took purchasing in-house to gain access to the open market, and having put several different brands through their paces in year-one shortlisted four selected products for further evaluation.

The GAU861 tyres in size 275/70R22.5 have been utilised on both steer and drive axles across the entire Scania chassis fleet, which includes both single and double deck bus bodies in 4x2 configurations.

Graham Smith, Engineering Manager for Nottingham City Transport, said: "When we were considering our options the key attributes were mileage, wear-rate and comfort versus cost, and the GAU861 has ultimately proven itself to be a very good all-position tyre with excellent feedback from the drivers themselves.

"In addition the value-added services have been exceptional, five mechanics have been through the Giti Training Course and all orders are delivered next-day. Overall I am delighted with both the product and the company."

The GAU861 has been designed with an extra reinforced sidewall to ensure maximum resistance to curbing and impact damage, while a 20.2mm deep, unique tread pattern ensures good mileage performance combined with extra comfort and reduced noise for passenger comfort.

The tyre recently achieved three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) certification, confirming its all-season performance credentials. It also carries M+S marking to indicate excellent traction and braking in mud and snow conditions

"By bringing tyre purchasing and fitting in-house we were looking to maximise our return-on-investment, and this aim has ultimately been achieved," concludes Gary Mason, Engineering Director at Nottingham City Transport.

"We are so impressed the GT Radial GSR225 Combi Road in size 245/70R19.5 is being trialled on our smaller ADL vehicles, the results of which will become clear over the coming months."

In April 2016 Giti Tire launched its flagship Giti brand into its European Truck and Bus (TBR) operations. The strategic initiative, which will replace GT Radial through a mixture of new tyres and relabelling of existing successful products, will begin immediately and be fully implemented by the end of 2017.